Castello di Botestagno

Castello di Botestagno (also known as Podestagno, or Peutelstein in German) is a ruined medieval fort in the comune of Cortina d'Ampezzo in the southern (Dolomitic) Alps of the Veneto region of Northern Italy.

It is perched on a rock in the valley of the Boite River, a little further north of Cortina, in the town of Prà del Caštel.

It is believed that it was first erected as a stakeout during conflict with the Lombards between the seventh and eighth centuries, with the aim of dominating the three valleys that converge beneath it: the Boite, the Val di Fanes and the Val Felizon.

During the 18th century the castle lost importance gradually, until it was auctioned in 1782 by order of Emperor Joseph II.

[2] Today the fort has now almost completely disappeared; only the remnants of what must have been the wine cellars and the foundations remain, now weathered and largely covered up by vegetation.